Tag Futebol

Liverpool forward Luis Diaz is now back running on the training pitches after a lengthy absence through injury.

The Lowdown: Diaz a huge loss for Liverpool

The Colombian was an instant hit when he arrived from Porto last January, adding new life to the Reds’ season as they pushed to win an unprecedented quadruple.

Diaz came into this season as an undisputed key man, but unfortunately, he was limited to just seven Premier League starts before picking up a knee injury against Arsenal.

Thankfully, it now looks as though the 26-year-old’s return isn’t a million miles away, following a new update.

The Latest: Back on track

Taking to Twitter, Jones reacted to an image showing Diaz is now running outside again, albeit not taking part in full contact training:

“Another positive step for Luis Díaz in his recovery from injury.”

The Verdict: Massive boost for Reds

It may still be a while before Diaz officially returns to the pitch for Liverpool but this is undoubtedly a huge positive in their season, given his importance to the team.

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The 37-cap Colombia international’s pace and directness have been a major loss for Jurgen Klopp, with that left-sided position tough to fill without him around.

The manager has hailed Diaz as ‘exceptional’ in the past and he is someone who could be such a key player in the latter weeks of the season, should Liverpool be pushing for a top-four finish.

Moving forward, the £56,000-a-week star can become an even greater force, with his best years potentially coming up, and his absence has to be considered a big reason for the Reds’ struggles this season.

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a transfer ultimatum by Sporting CP amid their interest in their right wing-back, Pedro Porro.

What’s the latest?

It has been reported that Fabio Paratici has gone into this summer’s transfer window with the Spanish wing-back at the top end of his priority list.

Spurs have been reported as looking to add a right wing-back as well as a forward this month as they hope to bolster Antonio Conte’s squad for a Champions League push in the second half of the campaign.

However, it has been claimed the north London club’s interest in Porro had taken a hit in recent weeks after finding out the valuation put on him by the Portuguese side.

And now, Dharmesh Sheth has said on Sky Sports News that Spurs have been told to either pay the player’s £39.5m release clause or to walk away:

“Now, it’s been confirmed to me by a contact in Portugal who covers Sporting Lisbon very, very closely, that it’s going to be the release clause or this deal will not happen.

“So Tottenham would have to pay [£39.5m] to Sporting Lisbon for this deal to happen otherwise, it simply won’t.”

Porro problem

This has put Spurs in a tricky situation as they are believed to be aiming to improve their options at right wing-back and have the Spaniard as their top target this month.

But the reports suggesting they do not value the player in the same region as his release clause is a concern considering they are seemingly unwilling to spend just over £35m on their top target.

To put it into comparison, Spurs have spent a combined £45.8m on Emerson Royal and Djed Spence in recent years.

Porro has had an exceptional season so far in Portugal with the Spaniard providing a return of two goals and 10 assists across his 22 appearances in all competitions (via Transfermarkt).

Whereas Conte’s current right wing-back options have provided just one goal and one assist between all three of them in a combined 1527 minutes of action (via Fbref).

It is only natural for a buying side to try and negotiate a better price for the player in question, however, Sporting have set their stall out so, we think if Daniel Levy is unwilling to part with the funds, simply move on.

Tottenham’s uncertainty around the price tag set on Porro has seen one of the bitter rivals, Chelsea, enter the frame with the Blues now believed to be interested in potentially landing the 23-year-old.

And if Spurs do not think Porro is worth the money or are unwilling to take the gamble at that fee of whether he’d suit Conte’s style, that is fine.

However, the transfer window has now almost been open for two weeks and if they are not going to make a move on Porro, then move on to another target because it is apparent this is a position which drastically needs improving.

Tottenham Hotspur target Pedro Porro is not likely to be Antonio Conte’s priority in January, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Tottenham’s Porro interest

It was reported earlier this week that Tottenham were closing in on the signing of Porro, who currently plays for Portuguese club Sporting CP, with a £35m deal expected to be completed.

Conte was believed to be targeting a right-wing back due to the possibility of either Emerson Royal or Matt Doherty being sold in this transfer window, but a new update details that the position is not of the utmost importance to the Italian.

The Latest: Jones ‘surprised’

In an interview with GIVEMESPORT, Jones said the Porro news is surprising, claiming that the manager is more eager to strengthen two other positions:

“There are a few factors that make me question whether he would be a priority. Everything I hear, it’s a forward creative player or a centre-back rather than a right-sided wing-back.

“I’m not going to rule it out, but I’d be surprised if that was accelerated ahead of everything else.”

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The Verdict: Worth signing?

It is clear to see why Conte would prioritise the signing of a centre-back, considering his side’s terrible defensive record so far this season, conceding an average of 1.47 goals per game in the Premier League, more than the likes of West Ham United and Crystal Palace.

Spurs already have an array of options in attack, with fantastic players like Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski at their disposal, although the latter is currently an injury concern due to an ankle problem, while Richarlison is also out with a hamstring issue.

Emerson Royal has looked unimpressive, while Porro has been lauded as a ‘baller’ by journalist Jack Collins, and has averaged 4.61 shot-creating actions per 90 over the last year, an increase on the 1.85 figure from Royal.

Being able to improve all three areas is no doubt the ideal situation for Conte, but injuries to attackers and the poor performances from centre-backs means that strengthening the right-wing back area should be of less concern.

West Ham United have been urged to sign Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire by former first-team coach Stuart Pearce.

The Lowdown: West Ham’s defence

It is well documented that Craig Dawson wants a move away from the London Stadium, with the defender seeking a move to Cheshire to be closer to his family, and his contract is up at the end of the season, so it is appears very unlikely that he stays.

With Kurt Zouma undergoing surgery for a knee problem and Nayef Aguerd also missing 21 games through injury so far this season, David Moyes may well want to strengthen his backline, and his former coach believes Maguire would be a fantastic signing.

The Latest: Pearce’s comments

Pearce left his role with West Ham at the end of last season, but he has now urged Moyes, as well as other Premier League clubs, to make a move for the Englishman, saying:

“If I was West Ham, if I was Newcastle, if I was Aston Villa, I’d be all over trying to get Harry Maguire out of there.

“I’d be asking the question whether he’s available. He’d be a brilliant addition to a football club.

“He’s the right age, the right stature, right experience.

“He might just need another challenge now as he’s not getting regular football.” (via talkSPORT)

The Verdict: Smart signing?

The 29-year-old has had his fair share of criticism since arriving at Manchester United for £80m in August 2019, and he has recently admitted that it has taken a toll on him, however he once again proved just how good he can be with England at the World Cup.

The defender was ranked by SofaScore as the third-best player and best defender in the whole squad, receiving an average match rating of 7.34, but Erik ten Hag only brought him on for the last few minutes of the recent trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, so he could seek a move away.

Former teammate Paul Pogba nicknamed Maguire ‘the beast’, while also describing him as a ‘leader’, and he would be a great addition for the Hammers if he was available.

The likelihood is that Man United would want to recoup much of the huge transfer fee that they paid for him, which could put him out of their price range, but he has shown for England he can thrive in a deeper set-up than the high positions he is forced to take at Old Trafford.

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Josip Juranovic to London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Ignazio Genuardi, who revealed in a recent post on Twitter (via Sport Witness) that David Moyes is keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Celtic right-back ahead of launching a potential bid in the winter market.

The journalist went on to state that an unnamed French club have also made an enquiry regarding the availability of the 27-year-old, to whom the Scottish champions are believed to have informed that the Croatia international will cost €20m (£17.5m).

In his tweet, Genuardi said: “A French club inquired about the availability of the Croatian right side Juranovic, but Celtic seem particularly greedy (around €20m). Outside L1, West Ham is notably in the ranks.”

“Unbelievable”

Considering just how impressive Juranovic has been for both club and country so far this season, the argument that the right-back would be an unbelievable signing for Moyes to bring to West Ham this winter is an extremely easy one to make.

Indeed, over his eight Scottish Premiership appearances in the current campaign, the £5.7m-rated talent has been in fantastic attacking form, having already scored one goal, registered one assist and created one big chance, as well as taking an average of one shot, making 1.6 key passes and completing 0.8 crosses per game.

The defender has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, helping his side keep four clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.1 tackles, 0.6 interceptions, one clearance and winning 3.4 duels – at a success rate of 60% – per match.

These returns have seen the 27-year-old average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.29, not only ranking him as Ange Postecoglou’s third-best performer in the league but also as the seventh-best player in the top flight of Scottish football as a whole.

However, it will have undoubtedly been over Juranovic’s six appearances at the World Cup in which the right-back caught the most eyes, with the £42k-per-week flanker helping his country keep two clean sheets and registering one assist, in addition to making an average of 2.0 tackles, 1.2 key passes, 2.0 clearances and winning 3.5 duels – at a success rate of 68% – per game.

These metrics saw the 27-cap international average a rather remarkable Sofascore match rating of 7.13, ranking him as Zlatko Dalic’s sixth-best performer in the competition – playing a key role in Croatia’s extremely impressive third-place finish in Qatar.

Rather unsurprisingly, Juranovic’s displays – particularly his performance in the quarter-final win over pre-tournament favourites Brazil – earned the 27-year-old a considerable amount of praise, none more so than from William Gallas, who stated:

“What he did against Brazil was just unbelievable. He had to play against Vinicuis Jr, Neymar drifted over to his side, the guy defended very well and, at the same time, he was attacking.

“Can you imagine putting in a performance like that against that level of opponent? Normally when you know that you have to keep players like Neymar and Vinicius quiet, what do you do?

“You think, tonight I’m going to have a nightmare and I will just have to defend, I won’t attack. When he had the opportunity, he was attacking. What he did in that game was unbelievable.”

As such, with Juranovic having more than proven in Qatar that he is capable of turning in extremely impressive performances against some of the best attackers in the world, it would indeed appear a very wise move for Moyes to launch a bid for the Croat this winter, as, for a fee of just £17.5m, the 27-year-old would look to be something of an unbelievable steal for the Hammers.

Celtic signing Alistair Johnston ‘will need to get better’ on the defensive side of things before playing in the Scottish Premiership, according to former Hoops star Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: Johnston signs

The Hoops confirmed the signing of the right-back from CF Montreal last weekend after putting pen to paper on a five-year deal, which will see him make the move to Parkhead in January.

Josip Juranovic, Ange Postecoglou’s first-choice in that position, has rejected a new contract and is open to listening to offers from other clubs, so the boss had no option but to act quickly and secure a probable replacement.

The Latest: McAvennie’s comments

Speaking to Football Insider, Hoops ‘expert’ McAvennie admitted that he watched Johnston representing Canada at the World Cup, believing he needs to develop his defensive attributes more.

“He will need to get better because Canada got absolutely battered down that side.

“He is a decent player, he did very well especially when they were on the attack in the first game. He just went for it.

“That is where he was different class and that is the kind of game Celtic play.

“I am looking forward to anyone who comes in because Ange has the Midas touch.“

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The Verdict: Bags of potential

Johnston has been praised for putting in a ‘blood and thunder’ performance in Qatar by Chris Smith, and whilst his national squad struggled, he’s had an impressive personal season in the MLS.

The Vancouver native has clocked up four goals and the same number of assists this term and is a versatile player with the ability to operate at centre-back and even right midfield when playing in an attacking system (Transfermarkt).

The Canadian also already has 32 international caps to his name, making him an extremely exciting addition when he makes the transition to Glasgow in the New Year.

Glasgow Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson is currently in the process of finding a manager to replace the recently sacked Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the Ibrox hot seat.

The Dutch head coach was relieved of his duties earlier this month and the Light Blues are now attempting to find a replacement before the club return to action in December after the 2022 World Cup.

Rangers’ next manager will only have four competitive matches before the January transfer window opens up and this means that the club’s new boss will have an almost instant chance to bring his own players in to improve the squad.

One gem who must be targeted in one of the next two windows is Sheffield United centre-forward Oliver McBurnie, who is out of contract at the end of the season and was linked with a move to Ibrox in 2021 by the Daily Mail.

Former Hibernian attacker Tam McManus recently claimed that the club may take the forward if he is available for nothing next summer, telling IbroxNews:

“I don’t know if his goalscoring record would stand up to the scrutiny at Rangers but he’s a massive Rangers supporter and that immediately buys into the fans.

“If he’s out of contract, you can get him for nothing. But let’s not forget he cost [up to £20million].

“If you’re getting a guy like that for free then I think Rangers would probably take him.”

Rangers’ next manager must now reignite the club’s prior interest in the striker and make McManus’ prediction a reality by swooping to sign the Scotland international in January or next summer.

The 6 foot 2 striker joined the Blades in 2019 after plundering 22 goals in 42 Championship outings for Swansea in the 2018/19 campaign and scored six goals in 36 Premier League matches during his first season at Bramall Lane.

He then struggled as he only scored two league goals in the following two terms, with 23 top-flight games and 28 in the second tier, before finding his feet again in 2022/23.

McBurnie has scored nine goals in 12 Championship starts for Sheffield United this season, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.18 – which would place them sixth in the Rangers squad in terms of their current Premiership ratings.

Ex-Scotland attacker Chris Iwelumo once told BBC Sport that the forward is “unplayable” at times and Danny Mills previously claimed that the 26-year-old could “thrive” and score goals at Ibrox.

The 17-cap international’s form this season suggests that he is getting back to his best and that he could be a fantastic signing for the Gers on a free transfer next summer, which is why the club must swoop for him, as he is smashing in goals in England.

McBurnie has plenty of room left to grow and improve, at the age of 26, and could be a signing for the future as well as the here and now, with the Rangers supporter looking like exceptional value for money if the next Light Blues boss can sign him for nothing.

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor being back in training after an injury absence is ‘great to see’, according to former Hoops striker Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: McGregor out injured

The 29-year-old club captain has been an influential figure at Parkhead for many years now, providing consistent quality and industry in the middle of the park.

McGregor has been missed through injury since the beginning of October, with the Scotland international struggling with a knee problem.

He has since been pictured running in training, though, which suggests that his comeback to first-team action shouldn’t be too far away.

The Latest: McAvennie delighted with McGregor’s return

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie spoke of his delight at McGregor’s imminent return after viewing the training ground photos.

The 62-year-old said of the Celtic captain:

“He is back training so that is good to see. I saw a photo of him leading the team round the training pitch and that is great to see. It really is good to see him back in amongst the boys.

“The medical team around him will tell him if he can play or not. It is about four weeks before we start back, he will be ready for the start of the second half.

“What a rest he has had so he will be fully recovered. I would not be surprised if we see him on the pitch in Sydney. Ange [Postecoglou] would not have taken him there for the sake of it.”

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The Verdict: Big boost for Celtic

This is a massive boost for McGregor, with the midfielder undoubtedly a key figure for Celtic as their skipper and someone who can play a big part in their Premiership title charge.

He now has 389 appearances to his name for the Hoops, highlighting his vast experience, and at 29 he should still be considered at the peak of his powers.

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The fact that Celtic don’t play again competitively until the trip to Aberdeen on December 17 is a bonus for McGregor, and it would be a surprise if he wasn’t back by then judging by his return to training this week.

Tottenham’s match with Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League a few weeks ago was significant for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, it saw former Spurs academy darling, Marcus Edwards, return to the club he grew up at.

It was an emotional return for the Sporting winger who, typically, found the back of the net to haunt his ex-employers.

Much of the talk in the build-up to the clash had been surrounding the 23-year-old, who ended up beating the goalkeeper with a delightful goal from range.

After making just one appearance for the first team, a 2016/17 League Cup tie, he decided a move to Portugal would be best for his development. A spell with Vitoria Guimaraes was his first port of call where he scored 20 and assisted 14 in 96 outings.

One of those goals came in 2019 against Arsenal in Europe, a strike that demonstrated his immense talent.

Since leaving for the Portuguese capital, his record is now even better, bagging ten and assisting nine in 34 appearances.

In short, Edwards has proven Spurs wrong, irrespective of the talent they’ve brought through in the subsequent years after his exit.

One talent hoping to get a great deal more time to prove himself in north London is Bryan Gil, although that is currently looking slim.

The Spaniard appeared off the bench in that game with Marseille, managing 19 minutes in the second half, the most amount of minutes he’s been afforded in a single game this term.

Conte doesn’t seem to like him and at this rate, he could become the “new Marcus Edwards” in the words of the Daily Mail’s Paul Newman.

There may have been an element of sarcasm in that comparison but it stands true. Like the English attacker, Gil isn’t being afforded many opportunities despite his immense skill set.

They are like-minded players too, with both ranking highly across a number of important offensive metrics per 90 minutes. Indeed, Spurs’ 21-year-old starlet registers 3.81 touches in the opposition’s penalty area, completes 1.96 dribbles, receives 5.94 progressive passes and manages 3.81 shot-creating actions.

Edwards, by comparison, completes 2.59 dribbles, makes 3.81 touches in the opposing area, receives 5.99 progressive passes and delivers 3.81 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.

It paints the picture that both are extremely creative players, possessing the tools to fly past their man with trickery and panache.

Compared to a certain Lionel Messi, it would appear that Gil has the world at his feet, but like those who have come before him – specifically the Sporting ace – the £40k-per-week earner is in danger of not fulfilling his potential in the English capital.

That said, now could be the perfect time for Gil to earn his chance. Heung-min Son is out injured with a fractured eye socket, while Richarlison is also on the sidelines. Even Dejan Kulusevski is only just working his way back to full fitness.

The disappointing thing is, however, that even with all of those injury issues against Liverpool, the Spanish youngster still didn’t get his chance. It feels like a wasted opportunity for Conte.

There have been no shortage of poor performers in Wolves’ side so far this season but after some extremely underwhelming recent form, Daniel Podence deserves to be dropped.

The former Olympiacos man actually started the season in decent form for the Old Gold, scoring on the opening-day defeat against Leeds United and notching again in the 1-0 win over Southampton, although his two goals have actually come from an xG of 2.14, which shows that he is slightly underperforming in that department.

However, he has failed to score or assist in any of his seven appearances since then, with WhoScored awarding him below a 6.8 rating for his performances in all but one of those games.

While there was an improved team performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Brentford, he summed up Wolves’ lack of efficiency in front of goal when he wasted a golden opportunity in the first half.

Express and Star journalist Liam Keen tweeted: “Some superb pressing from Neves sees him win the ball and play Podence. He races into the box but his shot is so weak. Steve Davis is furious on the touchline.”

Since signing for Wolves in January 2020, the tricky winger has managed just 12 goals and eight assists in 82 appearances for the club, with a lack of consistency seemingly a universal problem amongst the attackers in Davis’ side.

Podence’s 6.48 average rating in the Premier League this season sees him ranked as the 13th-best player in the Old Gold’s squad, which suggests that it is surely time for the interim boss to give someone else a go in attack.

Only Raul Jimenez has been dispossessed more often in the Premier League this season, while only Pedro Neto and Adama Traore have more poor controls of the ball per game in Wolves’ squad, which suggests that he is often guilty of losing possession.

Like a number of Wolves’ attackers, the 27-year-old could be accused of being too small and lacking physicality, which was emphasised when he was recognised as the player to play the most minutes without committing a foul in the Premier League in 2021.

This backs up the argument that he is rather lightweight and considering Everton reportedly hold an interest in signing him in January, Davis should contemplate getting rid of Podence for good.